Short Film Coursework - Research

INVICTUS – CHRISTOPHER OGDEN - SHORT FILM – ANALYSIS

An inspirational short film about facing the odds, never giving up, and achieving your dreams.

The low key lighting initially used in the very first shot sets the audience up with a slightly saddened tone, implying the nature of the short film. Thus, the blank, neutral facial expressions held by the character coupled with the only source of light from the alarm clock gives the sense that it’s a struggle to get up in the morning and get on with the day, as if this is his reaction to everyday. The close-up shot allows a clear view of both the alarm clock and the protagonist, implying the significance and likewise the importance for the character to get up at this time. As an audience, we know very little at the start, however the idea that the character has to set an alarm gives the impression that he possibly must be up early to do something/train/work. The only sound within this shot is the diegetic sound from the alarm clock, indicating the start of a new day or also the beginning of a daily routine for this

Low key lighting is continued to be used within the next shot showing the protagonist ascend from his bed with his hands covering his face;consequently proceeding with this disheartening tone. Initially, the body language stands out suggesting his unwillingness for the day ahead and the idea that he is possibly tired of doing the same thing everyday. This shot doesn't contain a lot implying his simple, systematic life style. Its in this shot that the music begins playing — ‘Finding hope’ by Dan Phillipson, a soft, tranquil however, relatively sorrowful piece of music. This music further reinforces the initial impression that the following short film has a determined storyline, thus one that could be quite challenging and sad. The music is parallel to the action.

Within this shot, the non-diegetic voiceover begins. The speakers tone of voice is rather monotone, indicating the lack of inspiration at the inception of this short film. The speaker begins by saying‘Lets face it kid, people try hard everyday. And fail,' this sets up the mood. Additionally, this coupled with the soundtrack continuing to play underscore the voiceover, makes the audience sympathise not only with the character on the screen, but also with the speaker. As well as this, it makes the audience feel intrigued and gives them the desire to watch and listen on to find out what this man may have to say. This phrase is synchronous with the shot of the protagonist running/training, fits with the idea that‘People try everyday,' thus giving the thought that is this character being set up to fail? Or even is there any point in him trying? Further letting us sympathise with the character.

The fast pace motion being made by the male character juxtaposes the slow contrapuntal music and slow voiceover being played, suggesting this characters possible desire to win instead of fail — which is stated by the speaker, implying that he wants to train to get to where he wants to be. The higher key lighting used within shot shows how this man is prepared to train all hours — day and night, to try and achieve his goals. No eye contact with the camera itself is present throughout the entire short film, this could imply that the protagonist doesn't want to lose concentration on what he wants, therefore by paying no eye contact and attention to things that could get in they way, I.E the camera symbolic of other people and obstacles that could interfere with him achieving his dream.

Here the protagonist has his eyes closed, implying the idea that he dreams to one day achieve his goal, additionally suggesting his desire and wanting. The orange lighting ascending from the background of this image is presumably that from the sunset. Connotations of the sunset include ideas around love, lust and desire, thus fitting with how much this male character wants to achieve. In using the light from the sunset as a symbolic meaning to represent his passion and craving to get far in what he wants to do, it allows audiences to look from a different perspective and makes them really sit back and think and understand how longingly this character feels.

Short Film Coursework - Research

This mid-shot shows the male character up at times regarded as the time to rest and sleep — very early hours in the morning with the sun rising or likewise very late hours of the evening with the sun going down, training and working hard. With this made obvious to the audience we understand the eagerness and disposition of this character. The shadowed silhouette caused by the lighting from the sunset behind puts complete focus on the character, making him the vocal point of this shot, further emphasising his enthusiasm and willingness. The diagonal line directing to the protagonist from the landscape positioned behind poses as two paths almost, that lead to two different places, this denotes the idea that this character must choose which journey/route he should take to get to where he wants to be in the end.

This extreme close up shows the protagonist’s hands — grazed and dirty, from all the hard work and effort into training that he has pursued. Thus, indicating the tolerance and commitment to his training. This shot symbolises the sheer work it takes for you to achieve your goals, and enforces the idea that it is not easy to get to where you want to be. The firm grip of the hands on the ground infer the tight hold the character has on his dream, hence implying that he will never let go of what he wants and that he is willing to do whatever. The distortion of the background and focus on the hands of the character coupled with the higher key lighting used in comparison to alternate shots, additionally suggests the character focus/concentration on his goal, reinforcing the ideas him willing to do anything in order to get to where he wants to be.

Low key lighting is prominent within this shot, and plays an important role in letting the audience know that it is in the evening/night time. With this in mind, it indicates the protagonist’s willingness to train all hours, day and night. Further enforcing the idea that doesn't care what it takes, as long as he gets there. This is one of the only shots that as an audience we begin to understand what this mans dream actually is — to become a professional boxer, this is suggesting to us from the surrounding set including that of a punching bag , etc. However, after not seeing many shots actually showing us the reality of what this character wants, it gives us the understanding that no matter what you want to do, it shouldn't effect how hard you should work, and that nothing should get in the

Here is the first time high key lighting is introduced to show the change in heart, the idea that things are looking up, things are changing, he is achieving his goals and he is slowly getting to where he wants to be. The characters clenched hands imply that he is possibly nervous or apprehensive, this could further infer that maybe an opportunity has evolved and he is nervous for what is to come. Clenched hands like so are commonly associated with that of nerves so therefore this is a key element in this characters expression of emotion and body language. In wearing the same costume — hoodie and track bottoms, throughout it shows the characters perseverance.

This shot shows the protagonist focused and training hard, hence indicating his strong mindset and desire to achieve his dream. This shot is one of the few that has high key lighting, this is to give the impression that this mans life is finally looking up and all his hard work and effort is finally going to pay off.

Short Film Coursework - Research

SOUND

- What kind of music is used?

• ‘Finding Hope’ - Dan Phillipson

The music used throughout the entire short film is calm yet dramatic with its fixed melody. Its gentle sound makes it easy to listen to, fitting nicely with the voiceover and matching its inspirational tone.

- What is the effect of the music?

The music makes the audience sympathise even more so with the protagonist. This is because the music adds tone and mood to the piece, thus the initial disheartening tone which is set automatically makes the audience anticipate a relatively sad beginning.

- How diegetic and non-diegetic are sounds used?

There is little use of diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound other than the soundtrack and voiceover. This consequently makes the audience focus even more on the visuals of the short film, making them feel obliged to look in detail at what is happening. Therefore emphasising the movement made within the shots, further highlighting the moral and meaning of the overall short film.

- What is the tone of the piece and does it change?

At the inception of the short film, the tone is set as considerably discouraging and daunting, reflecting how the character feels — tired of training everyday, fed up of routine and possibly loosing focus on his dream. Thus, the entire tone of the piece changes once the character starts looking up and sets his heart on what he wants to get from the handwork he is putting in. The change in tone is in sync with the change from low key lighting to high key lighting, therefore these two components are working together in order to gain this effect.

- How are sound and visual techniques used to convey meaning?

The tone of the music alongside the shots fit nicely with what is happening. Moreover, when things begin looking up and the future looks bright, the music becomes upbeat and uses higher notes. Whereas when the action is rather saddened and disheartening, the music is basic and repetitive. Therefore the sound and visual elements work together they have successfully conveyed the overall meaning and moral of the short film.

- What type of voiceover is used?

The voiceover used is almost that of an inspirational speech, not just directing it at the character in the short film, but also at the audience with its use of rhetorical questions and the 2nd person pronoun ‘you’. In doing this it stresses the importance in trying your best and having goals, thus making the audience sympathise greatly with the plot and what is trying to be said, whilst making the audience think about their personal lives and what they live for, which in the short films case, is this athletic male wanting to go somewhere with his boxing ability and to do this he trains his hardest to get to where he wants to be.

Short Film Coursework - Research CAMERA USE

- How are different shots used within the short film?

A variety of shots are used within this short film to portray the stages of reaching your goals. On a connotative level, in using a differentiation of shots, it could imply that of having alternate routes and ways to achieve dreams, therefore the different shots could pose as these other ways and journeys. On the other hand, they could also pose as the many different obstacles that are in the way.

• Close up shots – These are used to focus in on the subject of each different shot. As an audience, in being closer to the subjects face and thus having a clear vivid image of their facial expressions, we consequently end up feeling more sympathetic towards them. Additionally, feeling as if involved within the film and as if known to the character, this personal attachment is development and thus makes audiences feel empathy with the characters on screen. In this case close up shots are used to show the audience the protagonists determination and commitment through emphasising his expressions with a close up shot. These close up shots are stressing his tired features, additionally, the shot with his eyes closed suggests how he is dreaming to soon get to where he wants to be. Having your eyes closed is usually associated with the idea of being so passionate about something and wanting something really badly, and this idea is exercised within this close up shot.

• Mid shot – These are used to clearly show the subjects facial expressions in the context of their body language. In this case mid shots have been used to do exactly this; highlight the subject’s different facial expression and body language. In seeing the characters body language and expressions it says a lot about both their personality and the current situation they are in. In this short film mid shots are used to show the character training - running, boxing, weights, stretches , etc. Here his body language is put in the foreground and made a vocal point of each shot, to further stress; once again, his determination and commitment.

• Wide shot – These are used to give the audience a broader view of the surroundings and hence showing body language of characters in more detail. Nearly all of the wide shots used within this short film are to show how the character works and trains alone and also how he trains in considerably derelict areas with nobody around. This implies how he could have been alone most of his life and is always doing things for himself without any support. Thus this idea of him spending most of his life fighting for courage to build up for himself, links with how much he wants to achieve this dream of his and justifies why he trains so hard so that one day he can prove people wrong.

• How are different angles used?

There is little change in camera angles throughout the shot, nearly all of the shots are at eye level resulting in an easy watch for the audience. Additionally, they are merely watching and likewise following his life.

- How is camera movement used in the short film?

There is minimal camera movement within the actual short film, this is because the straight cuts are heavily relied on to show the different shots, rather than camera movement. The only movement in the short film includes that of tracking the character when he is running during his training, this gives the audience the sense of being there with him. Additionally, it symbolises the idea that the audience are watching him as he gets closer to achieving his dream, therefore watching his journey.

Short Film Coursework - Research EDITING

- What type of edits is included in the short film?

• Straight cuts - Straight cut transitions have been used in order to implement a sense of naturalism within this piece, thus its simple shift to another shot makes its look professional and appealing to the audience. The use of straight cuts allows for an easy watch that is aesthetically pleasing and thus fluent through the shots. The whole of this short film only includes straight cut transitions when going through the different shots. This is in aid of not complicating the film and also keeping viewers interested.

- What type of editing and its effect?

Montage editing is used in this short film-editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. Each shot has its own specific meaning which interlink with every shot giving an overall purpose/moral.

MISE-EN-SCENE

- How is high key lighting or low key lighting used?

At the inception of the short film, low key lighting is consistently used in order to infer this hardworking, tiring feeling, however once things start looking up and the characters training becomes better and better and he is seeing a bright future, the lighting gradually shifts over to high key, suggesting that things are going to change and that there is a point to getting up in the morning — which at the start of the clip it was obvious that the protagonist was struggling in finding the effort and willingness to keep fighting and training. Low key lighting is traditionally used to give this disheartening effect and works well in portraying the characters discouraging emotions and feelings. Thus, to see this sudden change in lighting gives the impression that the character has decided to step up to the game almost and wants to focus entirely on his dream.

- How is colour and tone used to create the generic effect?

There is little variety of colour used within this short film, as the desired impression that the director wants to give is more dispiriting rather than happy. Therefore the faint, darker colours used like grey and black give this type of tone. Whereas if he was to of used primary colours like red and blue it would have given a happier impression. The use of such colours makes the audience sympathise with the protagonist, hence wanting more for the character, feeling as if part of this journey the character is taking within this short film.

- How have clothing, props, mise-en-scene and sets been used?

The protagonist is continuously shown wearing hooded jumpers and shorts — clothing largely associated with gym wear and workouts.

- What is the iconography of the text?

A lot of the iconography suggests that of active work. Moreover, again indicating the characters commitment to his training and keeping fit.

- What are the dominant images and their relevance to the themes of the text?

The most dominant images within the short film are that of the silhouettes of the protagonist. This is because complete focus is on him and on what he is doing. Here audiences are unable to see his expression but know from previous shots that he is continuing to work hard and train through all hours — thus explaining the darker lighting and shadowed silhouette created.